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World Cup 1986
Colombia had originally won the right to host the finals in an unopposed bid ratified in Stockholm on 9th June 1974 but, largely due to economic reasons, they were eventually forced to back out - officially withdrawing at relatively short notice on 5th November 1982. Canada, Mexico and the USA all then made a bid to replace Colombia as hosts and it was Mexico who emerged as the winners with a unanimous vote in Zurich on 20th May 1983, this despite having previously hosted a World Cup as recently as 1970. An 8.1 magnitude earthquake near Mexico City in September 1985, which was thought to have killed around 10,000 people, cast doubt over the event, but come the following May the country was ready and raring to go. There was yet another change to the format of the finals - As in 1982, 24 teams took part and were pooled into six groups of four, but 16 (not 12) nations would now progress past the group stage to enter a straight-forward knock-out competition, this meant that 4 teams who finished 3rd in their group would remain in the competition.
Despite football's popularity in Britain sinking to an all-time low due to ever more serious incidents of crowd disorder, live TV coverage of this tournament was more comprehensive than the previous World Cup and certainly better than Euro '84 (which, for the most part, had been virtually ignored) though coverage was still frustrating at times with only the 2nd half of some games being shown live in order to accommodate editions of the early evening BBC chat show "Wogan" or ITV's soaps, sit-coms and game shows. Happily, from the last 16 onwards, all matches were shown in their entirety. The picture quality from Mexico, as recieved in Europe, was an improvment on that of 16 years earlier, but there was still the odd occassion of a feed being temporarily lost and the London studio team having to fill in. The generic captions appeared in Spanish across the globe, though full colour graphics were employed for the first time whilst the team line-ups were accompanied by small images of the players shown one by one, which seemed very advanced at the time.

ITV World Cup 1986 titlesITV World Cup 1986 studio

Commentators / Theme tunes
ITV's commentators in Mexico were Martin Tyler, Peter Brackley, John Helm and Gerry Harrison. Brian Moore presented the programmes from a studio in London but flew out to Mexico at the very end of the tournament to commentate on the final. Jock Brown voiced the Scotland games for viewers in the STV and Grampian regions. ITV's co-commentators were Ron Atkinson, David Pleat and Billy McNeill. The round-up programmes were presented by Ian St John with Jimmy Greaves.
The ITV World Cup theme for 1986 was "Aztec Gold" performed by Silsoe and composed by Rod Argent and Peter van Hooke, it was released as a single on the CBS label in June 1986 (cat no. A7231, b-side "On Wings of the Wind") and reached no.48 on the charts. The tune was popular enough to warrant ITV using it as a football theme for many years afterwards, it could be heard introducing "The Big Match Live" until 1988 and was then adopted by "The Saint & Greavsie Show".

The BBC commentators were John Motson, Barry Davies, Tony Gubba, Gerald Sinstadt and David Icke. Archie MacPherson commentated on the Scotland matches for those watching north of the border. The co-commentators were Jimmy Hill, Trevor Brooking and Bobby Charlton. Presenting the broadcasts from London were Des Lynam and Bob Wilson. The BBC theme tune was "Aztec Lightning" by Heads, composed by Helmut Zacharias and issued on the BBC's own label (cat no. RESL 184, b-side "Mayan Interlude"), the single peaked at no.45 on the charts.

Brian Moore presenting the 1986 World Cup for ITVIan St John - ITV World Cup 1986

Qualification
The qualifying draw was made in Zurich on 7th December 1983.
England and Northern Ireland were drawn together in Group 3 along with Romania, Turkey and Finland. England manager Bobby Robson said; "We couldn't have asked for much better." Scotland and Wales were paired up together in Group 7 with Spain and Iceland. The Republic of Ireland had a very tough challenge ahead of them having been placed in Group 6 alongside the Soviet Union, Denmark, Switzerland and Norway.
 

British TV coverage of the 1986 World Cup

ITV games are in white, BBC or non-televised matches are in grey.

Wed 07/Dec/1983    Qualifying Draw
Live from Zurich
BBC2 SCOTLAND
*BBC2 in Scotland had a "World Cup Sportscene" with Archie McPherson from 3pm.

Sun 15/Dec/1985    World Cup Finals Draw
*ITV had a brief bulletin to update viewers with news of the draw at around 7:10pm (inbetween the religious magazine show "Highway" and the game show "Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right"). BBC1 included news of the draw during their "Sports Review of 1985" at 7:15-8:50pm.
 
 


Preview captions from the 28th May 1986 edition of "Midweek Sports Special"



World Cup Squad Songs
Four years earlier, both the England and Scotland World Cup squads had reached the top ten on the pop charts, but in 1986 neither nation's single managed to even make the top 60! England's effort was "We've Got the Whole World at Our Feet" written by Tony Hiller, Stewart James and Bradley James, an awkward marriage of an old-fashioned football squad singalong with a typically awful mid-1980's synthesizer backing track. It was released on EMI's Columbia label (cat no. DB9128, b-side "When We Are Far From Home") and limped to no.66 on the charts (Worse was to come two years later before a radical re-think). The Scotland squad had "Big Trip to Mexico" written by Rab Noakes and Tony Hiller, the latter having co-written the England song as well. The Scotland single was also issued on the EMI Columbia label (cat no. DB9130 with "Carry the Hopes of Scotland" on the b-side) and it was another flop, only managing to rise to no.81 on the charts. A competition was held to choose the Northern Ireland single, the winning composers being The Soye Brothers who got to record "Come on Northern Ireland" with the squad, the runner-up made it onto the b-side (Jim Doherty's "Here We Go"). The Irish single did not register on the charts.

Fri 30/May/1986    "World Cup Preview"
*ITV had a late Friday night preview programme ahead of the tournament's opening fixture the following evening, hosted by Brian Moore alongside Ian St John, Kevin Keegan, Mick Channon and Bryan Hamilton. Most regions showed it at 10:30-11:30pm (Including Central, Granada, Yorkshire, TVS, Channel & Ulster), though some had it in an 11pm slot (LWT, Anglia & TSW) and others at 11:30pm (HTV West), 11:45pm (HTV Wales) or even midnight (Tyne Tees). BBC1 had a very brief 10 minute "scene setting" slot on Thursday night at 8:50-9:00pm, but they also ran a late night series "Summer of 66" which looked back at the 1966 World Cup finals, the final edition going out on the Friday night at 11:55pm.

Sat 31/May/1986    "Saint & Greavsie's World Cup"
*Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves previewed the World Cup 7 hours before kick-off at 12:05-12:30pm, ITV also showed a schoolboys international at Wembley between England and Italy at 2:45-5:00pm with Brian Moore & Ian St John commentating. BBC1 previewed the tournament during "Grandstand" with a World Cup 'Football Focus' at 12:35-1:00pm.

First Round
Game 1

Sat 31/May/1986    Italy 1 (Altobelli) Bulgaria 1 (Sirakov)
Group A (7:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Trevor Brooking
*BBC1 had live coverage of the opening match on "World Cup Grandstand" at 6:10-9:00pm introduced by Des Lynham. The opening ceremony was described by Barry Davies, the studio summariser was Terry Venables. Altobelli put Italy ahead just before half-time on 43, Sirakov netted a late equaliser for Bulgaria on 85. There were no highlights on either channel.

Sun 01/Jun/1986    Brazil 1 (Sócrates) Spain 0
Group D (7:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Brian Clough
*ITV had live coverage from 6:40-9:00pm introduced by Brian Moore. Peter Brackley & Ron Atkinson were supposed to commentate but a mix-up of cables in Mexico meant that Brian Moore and Brian Clough had to describe the match instead from the studio. Other countries had similar problems or worse, indeed Brazilian TV were unable to show anything of the 1st half. ITV Sports Chief Engineer said "It's a shambles. Unfortunately nobody is talking to each other, the engineers don't know what they are doing, the equipment is badly installed and I would suggest this has put broadcasting back 10 years on these events." Speaking to ITN the next day, Brian Moore blamed the earthquake that had flattened the TV centre in Mexico City the previous year. Sócrates scored the only goal of the opening Group D match on 62 mins. John Motson covered the game for the BBC but Gerald Sinstadt re-voiced it for highlights shown on the next day's "World Cup Report" as the sound quality was so poor.

Sun 01/Jun/1986    France 1 (Papin) Canada 0
Group C (11:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Bobby Charlton
*Coverage on BBC1 ran from 10:50pm-12:55am hosted by Des Lynam alongside Terry Venables, there were also highlights of the Brazil v Spain match at HT (Gerald Sinstadt commentating). Papin scored the French goal on 79. Due to technical problems, the match was not seen on Canadian TV.

Mon 02/Jun/1986    Argentina 3 (Valdano 2, Ruggeri) South Korea 1 (Park Chang-Sun)
Group A (7:00pm bst)
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
Barry Davies & Trevor Brooking
*BBC1 had the first of a daily "World Cup Report" at 5:35-6:00pm with Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes, but live coverage of the Argentina v South Korea match was of the 2nd half only with coverage beginning at 7:40-9:00pm. Valdano gave Argentina an early lead on 6, Ruggeri made it 2-0 on 18 and Valdano got his 2nd for 3-0 just after HT on 46, Park Chang-Sun pulled one back for the Koreans on 73. Gerry Harrison covered this game for later highlights/clips on ITV.

Mon 02/Jun/1986    Soviet Union 6 (Yakovenko, Aleinikov, Belanov(pen), Yaremchuk 2, Rodionov) Hungary 0
Group C (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Tony Gubba
*Highlights were included during coverage of the live game on BBC1 and later on ITV. The Soviet Union were two goals up inside the opening 5 minutes, Yakovenko scoring on 2 and Aleinikov on 4, Belanov made it 3-0 on 24 from the penalty spot, Yaremchuk got the 4th and 5th goals on 66 and 75, Rodionov made it 6-0 on 80. John Helm voiced the game for ITV highlights and got caught out with the early goal as he was still talking to his director. He may have been watching the game on a monitor as a last minute back-up as he was forced to halt commentary when there were breaks in the pictures.

Mon 02/Jun/1986    Morocco 0 Poland 0
Group F (11:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & David Pleat
*ITV had coverage at 10:30-1:00pm, the programme also included highlights from the earlier games. Gerald Sinstadt voiced highlights for the BBC.

Tue 03/Jun/1986    Northern Ireland 1 (Whiteside) Algeria 1 (Zidane)
Group D (7:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Peter Brackley & Ron Atkinson*
*ITV 6:45-9:00pm. Norman Whiteside gave the Irish a dream start with a goal on 6 minutes but Zidane equalised on 59. Technical problems meant that Brackley and Atkinson went offline just before Whiteside's opener. As the goal went in, ITV viewers heard the voices of John Helm and Billy McNeill, who presumably were standing by as backup for just such an eventuality following the farce of the Brazil v Spain commentary. Brackley and Atkinson returned for the second half. Tony Gubba voiced the game for the BBC.

Tue 03/Jun/1986    Mexico 2 (Quirarte, Sánchez) Belgium 1 (Vandenbergh)
Group B (7:00pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Highlights shown at HT and FT of the N.Ireland match. All three goals were scored in the 1st half, Quirarte netting for Mexico on 23, the star of the host nation Hugo Sánchez making it 2-0 on 39 and Belgium pullng one back through Vandenbergh on 45. Gerald Sinstadt described the brief BBC highlights. The audio on the opening minutes of the feed was mixed up and is from the NI v Algeria match.

Tue 03/Jun/1986    Portugal 1 (Carlos Manuel) England 0
Group F (11:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 10:50pm-12:55am hosted by Des Lynam and pundits Emlyn Hughes and Terry Venables. Carlos Manuel scored the only goal of the game for Portugal on 76 minutes . Martin Tyler commentated for ITV highlights the next day.

Wed 04/Jun/1986    West Germany 1 (Allofs) Uruguay 1 (Alzamendi)
Group E (7:00pm bst)
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
Barry Davies & Lawrie McMenemy
*BBC1 7:40-9:00pm. The BBC decided that another edition of "Wogan" was more important than the World Cup and that was shown from 7:00-7:40pm before highlights of the 1st half and live coverage of the 2nd half .Uruguay led for most of the match after Alzamendi had given them the lead on 4 minutes, Allofs equalised for West Germany late in the game on 84. There was a complete loss of feed from 70-73 minutes and then a loss of pictures three minutes later with Davies doing a radio style commentary. Two more black outs occurred before the last 30 seconds was lost altogether. RTE showed the whole match live with Barry Davies' commentary, there was no audio for the first 2 minutes.

Wed 04/Jun/1986    Paraguay 1 (Romero) Iraq 0
Group B (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Highlights after the West Germany match. Romero scored the only goal on 35.

Wed 04/Jun/1986    Denmark 1 (Elkjær) Scotland 0
Group E (11:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Billy McNeil
*ITV had an edition of "Saint and Greavsie's World Cup" at 5:15-5:45pm looking ahead to their coverage of the Scotland game at 10:30pm-1:00am. Denmark won the match with a goal by Preben Elkjær Larsen on 57. Archie MacPherson commentated for BBC highlights shown nationally on "World Cup Report" the next day..

Game 2

Thu 05/Jun/1986    Italy 1 (Altobelli(pen)) Argentina 1 (Maradona)
Group A (7:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ron Atkinson
*ITV 6:45-9:00pm. Altobelli gave Italy an early lead from the penalty spot on 6 minutes, Maradona equalised on 34. Barry Davies voiced this match for highlights on BBC1.

Thu 05/Jun/1986    France 1 (Fernández) Soviet Union 1 (Rats)
Group C (7:00pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Peter Brackley
*Highlights at HT and FT of the above game. John Motson voiced this game for the BBC. Rats put the Soviet Union ahead on 53, Fernández equalised on 60. Mexican TV messed up the lines in the opening minute with all broadcasters apparently being fed pictures from Italy v Argentina.

Thu 05/Jun/1986    Bulgaria 1 (Getov) South Korea 1 (Kim Jong-Boo)
Group A (11:00pm bst)
BBC 2nd Half Part LIVE
Tony Gubba & Trevor Brooking
*Again, the BBC's coverage was dissapointing tonight with them only having a programme from 12:00-12:55am to show the final 35 minutes of the game live. Getov put Bulgaria ahead on 11, Kim Jong-Boo equalised on 70. This must have been Tony Gubba's first live football commentary.

Fri 06/Jun/1986    Brazil 1 (Careca) Algeria 0
Group D (7:00pm bst)
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
John Motson & Lawrie McMenemy
*More substandard coverage from the BBC, with only the 2nd half shown live from 7:40-9:00pm and "Wogan" taking precedence from 7:00pm. Careca scored the only goal on 66. Peter Brackley commentated for ITV highlights shown during the late night coverage of England's game.

Fri 06/Jun/1986    Hungary 2 (Esterházy, Détári) Canada 0
Group C (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Highlights after the Brazil match. Esterházy scored for Hungary in the 2nd minute, Détári made it 2-0 on 75.

Fri 06/Jun/1986    England 0 Morocco 0
Group F (11:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & David Pleat
*ITV 10:30pm-1:00am. Ray Wilkins was sent off on 43 minutes, receiving a 2nd caution after throwing the ball at the referee. Two minutes earlier captain Bryan Robson had to leave the field with a dilocated shoulder. Barry Davies commentated for the BBC who showed highlights the following day around lunchtime on "Grandstand" but they also had an unscheduled 5 minute 'World Cup Report' at 1:25am on the Friday night/Saturday morning just before closedown which included a few clips of the game voiced over by Davies and then an interview with Bobby Robson (There were no opening titles, just the announcer and a caption akin to a newsflash).

Sat 07/Jun/1986    Spain 2 (Butragueño, Salinas) Northern Ireland 1
Group D (7:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
Peter Brackley & Ron Atkinson
*ITV 6:45-9:00pm with Brian Clough, Mick Channon and Bryan Hamilton joining Brian Moore in the studio. Butragueño scored for Spain in the opening minute, Salinas then made it 2-0 on 18. Colin Clarke pulled one back at the start of the 2nd half on 46 but the Irish could not rescue a point. Tony Gubba voiced the match for BBC highlights.

Sat 07/Jun/1986    Mexico 1 (Flores) Paraguay 1 (Romero)
Group B (7:00pm bst)
ITV Highlights
Gerry Harrison
*Shown at HT and FT of the N.Ireland match. An early lead for the hosts given to them by Flores on 3 and they remained in front for almost the entire game until Romero netted a late equaliser on 85. Gerald Sinstadt covered this one for BBC highlights.

Sat 07/Jun/1986    Poland 1 (Smolarek) Portugal 0
Group F (11:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Bobby Charlton
*BBC1 10:55pm-1:00am with Des Lynam and Terry Venables. Smolarek scored the Poles winning goal on 68.

Sun 08/Jun/1986    West Germany 2 (Völler, Allofs) Scotland 1 (Strachan)
Group E (7:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 6:45-9:00pm. Gordon Strachan put Scotland ahead on 18, but the lead didn't last long - Völler equalised on 23 and Allofs made it 2-1 to West Germany on 49. Graeme Souness made his 54th and final appearance for Scotland, Eamonn Bannon also wore the Scotland jersey for the final time with 11 caps. Gerry Harrison voiced the game for ITV. The match has since been repeated on ESPN Classic.

Sun 08/Jun/1986    Belgium 2 (Scifo, Claesen(pen)) Iraq 1 (Radhi)
Group B (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Gerald Sinstadt
*Highlights at HT and FT of the Scotland match. It was 1-0 Belgium on 16 when Scifo found the net, three minutes later Claesen made it 2-0 from the penalty spot. Iraq managed to pull one back in the 2nd half courtesy of Radhi on 59.

Sun 08/Jun/1986    Denmark 6 (Elkjær 3, Lerby, Laudrup, J. Olsen) Uruguay 1 (Francescoli(pen))
Group E (11:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Billy McNeil
*ITV had an assessment of the tournament so far as part of "World Cup '86 Sport Special" at 2:30-4:30pm (also including the Great North run), live coverage of the late night game was at 10:45pm-1:00am. A match worth staying up for with an incredible display by the Danes, Elkjær put them ahead on 11, Lerby made it 2-0 on 41, but Uruguay came back with a penalty converted by Francescoli on 45, Laudrup made it 3-1 on 52, Elkjær scored again on 67 and then completed his hat-trick for 5-1 on 80 and Jesper Olsen netted the sixth on 88. David Icke voiced the match for BBC highlights shown the next day.

Game 3

Mon 09/Jun/1986    France 3 (Stopyra, Tigana, Rocheteau) Hungary 0
Group C (7:00pm bst)
ITV 2nd Half LIVE
Peter Brackley & Ron Atkinson
*It was ITV's turn to frustrate the football fan tonight, "What's My Line" and "Coronation Street" being shown before they joined the France match for the 2nd half from 7:45-9:00pm. Stopyra scored the opening goal for France on 29, Tigana added a 2nd on 62 and Rocheteau made it 3-0 on 84. Barry Davies commentated for later highlights on BBC1.

Mon 09/Jun/1986    Soviet Union 2 (Blokhin, Zavarov) Canada 0
Group C (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Tony Gubba
*BBC1 had a highlights show at 11:35pm-12:10am. Two 2nd half goals won the match for the Soviets, Blokhin scoring on 58 and Zavarov on 74. Gerry Harrison covered the match for ITV highlights. CBC in Canada showed the match live with Gubba's commentary.

Group C Final Table
1. Soviet Union   +8  5
2. France         +4  5
3. Hungary        -7  2
4. Canada         -5  0

Tue 10/Jun/1986    Italy 3 (Altobelli 2, Cho Kwang-Rae(og)) South Korea 2 (Choi Soon-Ho, Huh Jung-Moo)
Group A (7:00pm bst)
ITV 2nd Half LIVE
Martin Tyler & David Pleat
*"Emmerdale Farm" and "Duty Free" were given priority on ITV, 2nd half coverage from 7:45-9:00pm. Altobelli gave Italy the lead on 17, Choi Soon-Ho equalised on 62, Altobelli scored again to restore the Italian lead on 73, an own goal by Cho Kwang-Rae on 82 made it 3-1, but South Korea scored again a minute later through Huh Jung-Moo on 83 for a close finish. Tony Gubba commentated for BBC highlights.

Tue 10/Jun/1986    Argentina 2 (Valdano, Burruchaga) Bulgaria 0
Group A (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
John Motson
*BBC1 had a highlights show at 11:45pm-12:10am. John Helm commentated for ITV who showed brief clips after the live match. Valdano scored on 3 minutes, Burruchaga got Argentina's 2nd on 79.

Group A Final Table
1. Argentina      +4  5
2. Italy          +1  4
3. Bulgaria       -2  2
4. South Korea    -3  1

Wed 11/Jun/1986    Mexico 1 (Quirarte) Iraq 0
Group B (7:00pm bst)
ITV 2nd Half LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ron Atkinson
*For the 3rd day running, ITV had only the 2nd half live of a final group game, the hosts being shown after "Where There's Life" and "Coronation Street" from 7:45-9:00pm. Quirarte's goal on 54 was enough to see off Iraq and win the group for Mexico. Gerald Sinstadt commentated for BBC clips.

Wed 11/Jun/1986    Paraguay 2 (Cabañas 2) Belgium 2 (Vercauteren, Veyt)
Group B (7:00pm bst)
ITV Highlights
John Helm
*Belgium went ahead through Vercauteren on 30, Cabañas equalised on 50, Veyt restored Belgiums lead on 59 but Cabañas levelled it up again on 76. David Icke voiced highlights for the BBC.

Group B Final Table
1. Mexico         +2  5
2. Paraguay       +2  4
3. Belgium         0  3
4. Iraq           -3  0

Wed 11/Jun/1986    England 3 (Lineker 3) Poland 0
Group F (11:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 10:25pm-12:55am, Des Lynam was the host with Emlyn Hughes and Alan Mullery summarising. Gary Lineker netted a first half hat-trick with goals on 9, 14 & 34 minutes. Martin Tyler voiced the highlights on ITV shown the next day.
 
 

Wed 11/Jun/1986    Morocco 3 (Khairi 2, Merry Krimau) Portugal 1 (Diamantino)
Group F (11:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
John Motson
*Khairi gave Morocco a 2-0 HT lead with goals on 19 & 26. Merry Krimau made it three on 62, Diamantino pulled one back on 80.

Group F Final Table
1. Morocco        +2  4
2. England        +2  3
3. Poland         -2  3
4. Portugal       -2  2

Thu 12/Jun/1986    "Saint and Greavsie's World Cup"
*ITV's only World Cup show today was an edition of Ian St John & Jimmy Greaves' weekly round-up/preview show. The BBC continued to broadcast a daily weekday "World Cup Report" at 5:35-6:00pm.

Thu 12/Jun/1986    Brazil 3 (Careca 2, Josimar) Northern Ireland 0
Group D (7:00pm bst)
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill / Michae Nesbitt
*BBC1 6:55-9:00pm, Des Lynam was joined in the London studio by Martin O'Neill and Terry Venables. Lawrie McMenemy contributed his thoughts from the stadium.. BBC viewers in Northern Ireland had their own presentation with a studio panel of Sammy Nelson, George Dunlop and Jackie Cummings, they also had their own commentator but heard Motson for the opening minutes until the correct audio feed was sorted out. Careca opened the scoring on 15, Josimar made it 2-0 on 42 and Careca scored again for 3-0 on 87. Peter Brackley voiced the match for ITV clips.

Thu 12/Jun/1986    Spain 3 (Calderé 2, Eloy) Algeria 0
Group D (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Tony Gubba
*Highlights during coverage of the N.Ireland match. Calderé scored on 15 and 68, Eloy added a third for Spain on 70.

Group D Final Table
1. Brazil         +5  6
2. Spain          +3  4
3. N.Ireland      -4  1
4. Algeria        -4  1

Fri 13/Jun/1986    Scotland 0 Uruguay 0
Group E (7:00pm bst)
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Billy McNeil
*ITV 6:40-9:00pm, host Brian Moore joined by Ian St John, Mick Channon and Bryan Hamilton. Uruguay's Jose Batista was sent off in the 1st minute, but Scotland could not find a way through the determined South Americans and finished bottom of the group. Arthur Albistan made his 14th and final appearance for Scotland. Ian St John was secretly recorded watching this match in the ITV London studio, some clips of him becoming very frustrated and angry at missed chances etc. were then played back to him on an edition of Saint & Greavsie's show (must have been the Monday 16th June edition) but Saint didn't appear to appreciate the funny side of it. Archie MacPherson commentated for the BBC.

Fri 13/Jun/1986    Denmark 2 (J. Olsen(pen), Eriksen) West Germany 0
Group E (7:00pm bst)
BBC Highlights
Barry Davies
*BBC1 had a highlights show at 10:20-11:05pm. Gerry Harrison commentated for ITV's brief clips during coverage of the live match. Jesper Olsen netted a spot kick on 43, Eriksen made it 2-0 on 62.

Group E Final Table
1. Denmark        +8  6
2. West Germany   -1  3
3. Uruguay        -5  2
4. Scotland       -2  1

Sat 14/Jun/1986    "World Cup '86 Sport Special"
*Saturday was a rest day but ITV had a sports show at 3:00-5:00pm with a summing up and comment on the first round as well as gymnastics and boxing. According to the previous night's live broadcast, the famous 1970 World Cup panel quartet were due to be reunited on this programme. BBC1 included two "World Cup Round Up" slots on "Grandstand", the first at 12:20-12:30pm and another at 4:40-5:05pm, the latter programme showed every goal scored in the Group stage.

Last 16

Sun 15/Jun/1986    Mexico 2 (Negrete, Servín) Bulgaria 0
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 7:00pm bst
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 6:45-9:00pm. A goal in each half from Negrete on 34 and Servín on 61 saw the hosts go through to the last 8. John Helm voiced ITV clips.

Sun 15/Jun/1986    Belgium 4 (Scifo, Ceulemans, Demol, Claesen) Soviet Union 3 (Belanov  3(1pen)) [AET]
Estadio Nou Camp, León, 11:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ron Atkinson
*ITV 10:45pm-1:00am. Belanov put the Soviet Union ahead on 27, Scifo equalised on 56, Belanov restored the Soviet lead on 70 but Belgium were soon back level again through Ceulemans on 77 and at 2-2 after 90 minutes the game went into extra-time. Belgium went in front for the first time in the game thanks to Demol on 102, Claesen then made it 4-2 on 110, but the Soviets immediately came back into the match on 111 with a penalty scored by Belanov to complete his hat-trick. Belgium then held out for the win. Tony Gubba called the highlights for the BBC.

Mon 16/Jun/1986    Brazil 4 (Sócrates(pen), Josimar, Edinho, Careca(pen)) Poland 0
Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, 7:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Peter Brackley & Ron Atkinson
*ITV had a "Saint & Greavsie's World Cup" show today at 5:15-5:45pm, live coverage of Brazil v Poland was at 6:45-9:00pm. Brazil led 1-0 at HT thanks to a Sócrates penalty on 30, three further Brazilian goals came in the 2nd half, Josimar on 55, Edinho on 79 and another penalty, this time scored by Careca, on 83. Tony Gubba voiced proceedings for highlights on BBC1 during coverage of the late night match.

Mon 16/Jun/1986    Argentina 1 (Pasculli) Uruguay 0
Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, 11:00pm bst
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 10:40pm-12:55am. Pedro Pasculli scored the only goal of the game on 42 minutes.

Tue 17/Jun/1986    France 2 (Platini, Stopyra) Italy 0
Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City, 7:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Billy McNeil
*ITV 6:45-9:00pm. Platini gave France the lead on 15, Stopyra added a 2nd French goal on 57. John Motson described the action for highlights on BBC1's late broadcast.

Tue 17/Jun/1986    West Germany 1 (Matthäus) Morocco 0
Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, 11:00pm bst
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 10:50pm-1:05am. West Germany progressed with a late winning goal scored by Lothar Matthäus on 87 minutes.

Wed 18/Jun/1986    England 3 (Lineker 2, Beardsley) Paraguay 0
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 7:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & David Pleat
*ITV 6:45-9:00pm, BBC1 also showed this match live from 6:30-9:00pm with John Motson & Jimmy Hill commentating (Des Lynam was joined in the BBC studio by Emlyn Hughes and Terry Venables whilst Bobby Charlton contributed his thoughts from the stadium). England led 1-0 at the break through Gary Lineker on 31, Peter Beardsley made it 2-0 on 56 and Lineker scored his 2nd of the game on 73. Spurs player Gary Stevens came on as a sub to make what turned out to be his 7th and final appearance for England.

Wed 18/Jun/1986    Spain 5 (Butragueño 4(1pen), Goikoetxea(pen)) Denmark 1 (J.Olsen(pen))
Estadio La Corregidora, Querétaro, 11:00pm bst
BBC LIVE
Barry Davies & Trevor Brooking
*BBC1 10:55pm-12:55am, Des Lynam presented with pundits Andy Gray and Terry Venables. Jesper Olsen gave the Danes the leas on 33 from the penalty spot but Spain equalised just before HT when Emilio Butragueño netted on 43, the same player put Spain ahead on 56, Goikoetxea then made it 3-1 on 68 from the penalty spot, Butragueño completed his hat-trick for 4-1 on 80 and then got his 4th and Spain's 5th on 88 with another spot kick. Highlights and reaction from England's win over Paraguay were shown at half-time..

Thu 19/Jun/1986    "Saint and Greavsie's World Cup"
*No games today, but ITV had a round up with Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves at 5:15-5:45pm (The 2nd such show this week as opposed to one in the previous weeks). BBC1 continued with their daily "World Cup Report" with Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes at 5:35-6:00pm.

Fri 20/Jun/1986    "World Cup Report"
*Another rest day and nothing World Cup related on ITV, but BBC1 had another "World Cup Report" with Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes previewing the Quarter-finals at 5:35-6:00pm.

Quarter-finals

Sat 21/Jun/1986    France 1 (Platini) Brazil 1 (Careca) [France won on pens AET]
Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, 7:00pm bst
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 had a World Cup report at the end of "Grandstand" from 4:50-5:05pm, then live coverage of this first Quarter-final at 6:40-9:00pm. Careca put Brazil ahed on 17, Platini equalised on 40. There were no further goals in the 2nd half or in extra-time and so the tie went to a penalty shoot out. Sócrates missed Brazil's opening kick, Platini was the next to miss with France's 4th kick. Júlio César missed with the final Brazil kick whilst Fernández scored for France. Peter Brackley commentated for ITV highlights.Curiously, this match was repeated over six months later on Channel 4 on 2nd January 1987 at 10am until 12noon, presumably with Brackley's commentary.

Sat 21/Jun/1986    West Germany 0 Mexico 0 [West Germany won on pens AET]
Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, 11:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
John Helm & Ron Atkinson
*No preview show on ITV today, live coverage of the late game from 10:35pm-1:00am. Brian Moore was joined in the studio by Kevin Keegan, Jimmy Greaves and Ian St John, with all being critical of the tedious spectacle in which no goals were scored in normal or extra time. It was agony for the hosts in the penalty shoot out as Quirarte and Servín both failed to find the net whilst the Germans successfully converted all of their spot kicks. Gary Lineker and Peter Reid were interviewed live from the England team hotel after the match. The BBC sent Tony Gubba & Trevor Brooking to commentate for highlights to be shown the next day on "Sunday Grandstand".

Sun 22/Jun/1986    Argentina 2 (Maradona 2) England 1 (Lineker)
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 7:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & David Pleat
*ITV had a preview (and action from yesterday's games as well as athletics) as part of "World Cup 86 Sport Special" at 4:00-5:00pm, then live coverage from 6:40-9:00pm. BBC1 had a preview at some point during "Sunday Grandstand" on BBC2 in the afternoon before they too showed live coverage at 6:45-9:00pm with Barry Davies & Jimmy Hill commentating. There were no goals in the first half, Maradona then put Argentina ahead on 51 (HAND BALL!!!!) and scored again with a memorable solo effort on 55, Gary Lineker pulled one back on 81 and almost equalised near the end.

Sun 22/Jun/1986    Belgium 1 (Ceulemans) Spain 1 (Señor) [Belgium won on pens AET]
Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, 11:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Gerry Harrison & Ron Atkinson
*ITV 10:45pm-1:00am. Ceulemans put Belgium ahead on 35, Señor netted a late equaliser for Spain on 85, but it was Belgium who ultimately went through in the penalty shoot out with all penalties converted except for Spain's 2nd kick taken by Eloy. John Motson voiced the match for the BBC who showed highlights the next day on "World Cup Report".

Mon 23/Jun/1986    "Saint and Greavsie's World Cup" / "World in Action"
*Saint & Greavsie looked back at the injustice of the previous day at 5:15-5:45pm. Later that evening "World in Action" had a documentary titled "The Fifa Story" at 8:30-9:00pm with a behind the scenes look at the staging of the World Cup. Over on BBC1 there was a "World Cup Report" at 5:35-6:00pm.

Tue 24/Jun/1986    "World Cup Report"
*No World Cup show on ITV today, BBC1 had a "World Cup Report" with Bob Wilson and Emlyn Hughes at 5:35-6:00pm.

Semi-finals

Wed 25/Jun/1986    West Germany 2 (Brehme, Völler) France 0
Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, 7:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Martin Tyler & Ron Atkinson
*ITV showed the first semi-final at 6:45-9:00pm. The West Germans reached the final yet again with an early goal and a very late goal, Andreas Brehme scoring the opener on 9, Rudi Völler sealing the win on 89. Tony Gubba & Trevor Brooking covered the game for the BBC who showed highlights during their coverage of the later Semi-final (Gubba got to commentate on the SF as Davies had to return to London to cover Wimbledon tennis).

Wed 25/Jun/1986    Argentina 2 (Maradona 2) Belgium 0
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 11:00pm bst
BBC LIVE
John Motson & Jimmy Hill
*BBC1 had a "World Cup Report" preview of the semi-finals at 6:35-7:00pm and showed the late match live at 10:25pm-12:55am, Des Lynam presented alongside Lawrie McMenemy and Terry Venables. Two more goals from Maradona on 51 and 63 sent Argentina through to the final. Peter Brackley voiced the match for ITV, almost certainly for "Saint & Greavsie" highlights the next day.

Thu 26/Jun/1986    "Saint and Greavsie's World Cup"
*Another rest day presented another opportunity for an installment of Saint & Greavsie at 5:15-5:45pm. BBC1's "World Cup Report" went out in its' regular slot of 5:35-6:00pm.

Fri 27/Jun/1986    "World Cup Report"
*Nothing World Cup related on ITV today, but BBC1 anticipated the final weekend of action at 5:35-6:00pm.

3rd/4th place play off

Sat 28/Jun/1986    France 4 (Ferreri, Papin, Genghini, Amoros(pen)) Belgium 2 (Ceulemans, Claesen) [AET]
Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla, 7:00pm bst
ITV Highlights
Peter Brackley
*No live coverage on either channel, ITV showed highlights at 10:30-11:30pm. BBC1 had earlier shown a "Grandstand" round-up of the tournament at 12:35-1:00pm and included highlights of the 3rd place match during Wimbledon Tennis highlights in the late Saturday night slot with Gerald Sinstadt commentating. Ceulemans gave Belgium the lead on 11 but France were ahead by HT, Ferreri equalising on 27 and Papin making it 2-1 on 43. Claesen pulled it back to 2-2 on 73 and the match went to extra time, France then scored twice more, Genghini on 104 and Amoros from the penalty spot on 111. Viewers in Ireland were able to watch the game live on RTE2 at 6:40-9:00pm with Ger Canning commentating.

Kevin Keegan - ITV World Cup 1986Brian Clough - ITV World Cup 1986Mick Channon - ITV World Cup 1986
ITV studio panelists Kevin Keegan, Brian Clough and Mick Channon

The Final

Sun 29/Jun/1986    "World Cup '86 Final Preview"
*ITV had a half-hour preview of the final at 3:00-3:30pm. The BBC had an afternoon preview at some point during "Sunday Grandstand" on BBC2.

Sun 29/Jun/1986    Argentina 3 (Brown, Valdano, Burruchaga) West Germany 2 (Rummenigge, Völler)
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 7:00pm bst
ITV LIVE
Brian Moore & Ron Atkinson
*ITV were first on air tonight from 6:30pm, BBC1 began their coverage at 6:35pm (with John Motson & Jimmy Hill commentating) hosted by Des Lynam who was joined in the studio by Gary Lineker (confirmed as World Cup top scorer on the night), Lawrie McMenemy and Terry Venables. The BBC broadcast ended in a rather awkward fashion when McMenemy told Lynam that he was “out of order” for quizzing Venables (manager of Barcelona) and Lineker (of Everton) about the likelihood of Lineker signing for Barcelona. Both channels were scheduled to leave the football at 9:15pm. José Luis Brown put Argentina ahead on 23, Jorge Valdano made it 2-0 on 55, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge pulled the Germans back into the match on 74 and Rudi Völler then appeared to have forced extra-time with an equaliser on 80, but just three minutes later Jorge Burruchaga scored what turned out to be the world cup winning goal.

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04.06.2022

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